Fatal Memory
by Jezzebelles-Chii
Summary: Zeisha is a new rising music star, topping charts and causing uproars only after a month. However, being pursued by aliens, and possibly a new Mew, this new career might be harder to juggle then she thought.
1. Chapter 1

**Something Different**

Zakuro sat outside the large, mansion house, which Mint Aizawa lived in. She looked at her watch, and tapped her foot impatiently. She wore a black top with a plunging neckline, and a white mini-shirt with little chains running off of it. She wore knee-high black leather boots, and it was evident they were going to something important. She looked up, hearing a door shut above, and saw the young girl she was waiting for run out of the house.

"Miss Zakuro! I'm sorry that I'm late, I had to make sure I had everything!" Mint apologized quickly, as Zakuro smiled, only a little. She liked how Mint had dressed, nothing to classy, but not too trashy. The 13 year old wore a white collared shirt with long sleeves. On her right sleeve was the print of a blue bird. She wore small black shoes and a long blue skirt.

"Don't fret. Come on, we need to hurry. Ryou said this might be the one he's been looking for." Zakuro said, as they walked into a limo before it sped off, as fast as Zakuro commanded them to go. "Now, what Ryou has said was this is the next girl he has found."

"Any name?" Mint asked, as Zakuro shook her head.

"He didn't say. But what he did say was that during a malfunction during their experiments, it was injected into a girl without her even noticing anything, not like what happened with us." Zakuro explained, remembering the day perfectly: a large earthquake, and an odd light. She looked up, seeing a large line of people suddenly whipping past them. Mint looked out the window, before they stopped at a large stadium. "Come on, we need to hurry."

The two girls stepped out of the limo, and right to the front of the line. They showed two passes, personally gotten by Keiichiro, as the man let them by, a few girls already passing on the news that the model Zakuro Fujiwara was there that night. They walked down stairs, right to backstage. People with headphones were buzzing around like bees, yelling into their headsets. One girl was especially chatty, before spotting Zakuro and Mint.

"I've got to go." She spoke quickly, before smiling at Zakuro and Mint. "Miss Fujiwara and Miss Aizawa! Welcome! We're so happy to have two performers to see on the newest star on her first show! Come on, she's right in here." The women lead the two into a new room, jabbering on her headset the entire way.

She opened a new door, where people were running around with make-up applicators and different compacts filled with colors of all kinds. They were all running around a girl with long, raven hair that was dyed black in streaks. The girls with makeup were putting black eyeliner on the younger girl's eyes, along with black eye shadow. They were making her look pale, and accenting the black eye shadow with light blue sparkles. They all stepped back, as the girl opened her eyes. Dark green eyes with hazel flecks were reflected back in the mirror, as she smiled. 

"That's good girls, you can go now; I have visitors." The girl said, as the women bowed and ran out of the room. The girl stood up from the chair she was sitting in, and turned around. She was wearing a white corset with black accenting, with no straps. She wore black pants, with long chains and orange accents. Large, clunky, black boots with buckles up the side made her become at least five inches taller, as tall as Zakuro to be exact.

"So, you're the model Zakuro Fujiwara and the dancer Mint Aizawa." She said, placing a hand on her waist and tilting her head. She looked them up and down, before extending her hand. "I'm Zeisha." She shook both Zakuro's and Mint's hand. Zakuro caught a flash of something pink on the underside of both of her wrists. She couldn't catch it before she took her hand away. "I'm glad to have you two here, I could use the support from the other performers that have already been under the spotlight." Zeisha said, smiling.

"It is good to be here." Mint said, as Zakuro nodded. Because Zeisha was more around Mint's age, Mint would do all of the talking. "I love a lot of your work, it's good to have some variety in people's singing. You don't sing just one type of song, you sing from soft and slow to fast and harsh, it's amazing what you can pull off!"

"Thank you Mint." She said, smiling. "You'll like what I'm doing for this concert, because I need to show a lot of people what I can do under pressure." Zeisha explained, before tilting her head. She pressed her hand to her ear, before nodding. "Alright, I understand. I'm coming." She looked up to Zakuro and Mint and bowed. "I must go now…" She said, before running off.

"She might not be the one… I thought I saw the mark but…" She looked at Zeisha's wrists and only saw the residues of some of her blush. "I was wrong…" She said, sighing and crossing her arms. Mint was busy snooping around in many sheets of paper, before picking up one. She looked at it with a quizzical glance, but then smiled and brought it over to Zakuro.

"This may interest you." Zakuro took the paper, and Mint continued. "It looks like an entry in her diary. Look at the last notes." She added, as Zakuro looked down at the bottom of the paper.

I don't know how my voice got so much better after that odd dream I had. Like, my sorrowful notes are like the call of a crying girl, and my screaming sounds as sharp as a dying animal, no matter how bad that sounds. Might be the extra classes I was taking helping me out. But, whatever it is, it seems to be helping me more then ever, I've been creating more and more creations with this new addition to my voice.

Zakuro smiled, before folding up and placing it in her pocket. "Ryou would love to see this one." She said, before they walked out of the room. "But we have no proof. Remember, without seeing her form for ourselves or the mark, she might not be the one at all." Mint nodded, as they walked out of Zeisha's room. Someone with a headset locked up her room, leading Mint and Zakuro towards backstage.

"Yeah, I know." Mint rolled her eyes. This was so tedious. No wonder Ichigo was acting all strange when she was searching. "But hey, we get to enjoy good music while we're here!" Mint grinned, as Zakuro laughed. The rounded a corner, as Mint spotted the amount of people crammed into the stadium. The voices were so loud, her ears almost hurt.

"Hey, you two!" Zakuro turned coolly, spotting the woman from before. "I'm sorry to intrude, but you shouldn't be that close to the stage, the speakers could blow your eardrums out…"

"We brought ear-plugs." Mint explained, taking out some black rubber plus. "We'll be fine." She placed them in her ears, before glaring at the woman. "Shouldn't you be going somewhere? Or are you supposed to stand there staring at us?" The woman, taken aback, apologized, and ran away.

"You're learning too much from me." Zakuro raised an eyebrow at Mint, who smiled innocently.

Suddenly, screams rang out through their ears. Zakuro winced, before noticing Zeisha had walked out on stage. Her eyes sparkled a multitude of colors, before strutting over to the microphone. A black lip rings glinted on the right side of her lower lip, eyebrows ring in her left eyebrow.

"How did we not notice her piercing before?" Mint asked, as Zakuro shrugged.

"I think we were too distracted by trying to find the mark." Zakuro replied, shoving the earplugs into her ears. Mint immediately followed, and not a moment too late. The guitar player to Zeisha's left had just slammed down an ear-splitting note, and the drummer soon followed. The two could feel the vibrations from the speakers through their shoes. "Geez… is all music now-a-days this loud?" Zakuro asked, as Mint shrugged.

Zeisha had just begun singing, soft and calm. Even without screaming, her voice oddly matched the fast paced guitar riffs. Mint watched, before catching two objects floating above the crowds of people in the stadium. One was humanoid shaped, whichever alien it was, she couldn't tell. The other looked like a bird. Small right now, but she knew all to well what those things turned into. She immediately jabbed Zakuro, who looked up.

"Great… ruin the party." Zakuro cursed. Her and Mint looked around, seeing if it was all clear and safe to transform. Zakuro cast one quick look at Zeisha, who had looked up. See seemed to have spotted whatever what was floating, unidentifiable at the moment. It didn't phase her one bit.

"God, what did I do wrong?" She sung along the guitars, her voice starting to get louder. "Why did Mama and Papa run away?" She sang louder, and then, screamed loudly. Her voice turned growl-like, before she yelled out, "I'm sorry! Please forgive whatever I've done!"

"Wait Mint. Look." Zakuro looked up at the bird, which seemed to be withering in pain. When Zeisha stopped singing, it seemed to stop. Zeisha then waited for a bridge to end, as the bird was staring to get larger. She started to sing again.

"Where have you gone? Love was just so cold these days… Chasing away the lovely dawn I used to see and think of you." She sang, as the bird stopped growing, and shrieked. The crowd didn't seem to notice; they thought it was another fan.

Zakuro and Mint were amazed to see that the bird shrunk rapidly, before it separated into kirema anima and harmless bird. The bird flew away quickly, just as the alien took the kirema anima and disappeared.

The music rapidly stopped after the drummer slammed some random notes, as Zeisha walked towards the edge of the stage. People reached up with their hands, wanting a high-five. Zeisha slapped all of their hands, before punching one of her arms into the air, before yelling into her microphone.

"Good evening Tokyo!" She yelled, smiling. Crowds cheered, as she continued to talk to them. "How are you all doing tonight?" They screamed again. Zeisha giggled, as Mint recognized what she was doing. She turned her back to the crowd, and looked over her shoulder. Winking, she made a peace sign and placed it over her mouth. The pose from her first album, released only a month ago. Even though it was only out for such a short time, it was causing a huge uproar.

"Let's make a fatal memory!" She screamed, as the crowd screamed back. It seemed to be the new catch line, because people screamed it back at her.

"Come on Mint, we've seen everything we need to." Zakuro grinned, as Mint nodded and followed right behind her. The exited out from the backstage doors, and got into the car Zakuro had obviously called up to pick them up. They both got into the car, as Zakuro laughed. "Well, she's something different, isn't she?"


	2. Chapter 2

**A Suspicion Deepens**

"What? Wait, explain this to me again." Ichigo was confused, leaning on a broom. They had just cleaned up the Café for the night: it was packed with people who came for the concert. The loud base could be felt through their feet even about five miles away.

Mint sighed. "Ichigo, the girl sang. That's it. She sang, and the kirema anima was defeated and separated form the bird." Everyone around them looked confused more then ever. "No weapons not even a hint of transformation. She just… sang." Zakuro nodded, affirming what Mint had just said.

"Now that's interesting." Ryou chimed in from behind the girls. "You said you had gotten something from her dressing room?" He asked, as Zakuro took out the folded piece of paper. She handed it to him, as he opened it up. "This could be a sign, but it also could have been the noise."

"What? You're telling me that noise defeated the kirema anima?" Mint asked sarcastically.

"Well, I don't think we've ever really tried noise before to defeat the aliens before…" Lettuce sighed, as Keiichiro shook his head.

"It seems unlikely." He assessed the dilemma silently. Lettuce sighed, placing her chin into her hand. It was silent again, as Ichigo snapped her fingers, and grinned from ear to ear.

"Maybe kirema anima's are sensitive to loud noises! Like, maybe they just are like animals: they have highly developed hearing!" Mint shrugged at this comment, and sipped out of her cup, the smell of tea floating around the room. Sighing, she looked around, noting there was one girl missing…

"Where's Pudding?" She asked, only noticing that Ichigo and Lettuce were working when they came in. Zakuro and Mint had to go watch around Zeisha, so they were excused from work. On one of the busiest days. Ichigo whined, saying that Mint never worked, but still had to work for three missing people.

"Pudding called me before work today… She had a really bad cough and decided to stay home." Lettuce placed a bunch of brooms and mops into the closet, before shutting the door silently behind her. "She said she should be better in, at most, two days." She smiled, taking off her glasses and cleaning them in her skirt.

"Well… It's about midnight! I'm going back home." Ichigo stretched, yawning. "I'll tell you guys if I run into anything odd on the way home, alright?" The group nodded at her, most of them were starting to stand and head to the door after her. Ryou and Keiichiro waved them off, as the four girls stood outside in the warm summer air. Besides the loud music that was clearly heard in the distance, the night was peaceful, a very slight crescent moon hung high in the velvet blue sky. Ichigo breathed in the air, and exhaled, smiling. "I love the summer!" She yelled loudly, falling down into the grass.

"I thought you were going home, Ichigo." Mint commented, rolling her eyes. Ichigo looked over her shoulder and stuck her tongue out at her friend, giggling. "Well, I would have done the same thing." Mint laughed, sitting down in the grass next to her. The two looked up at the sky, soon being joined by Lettuce on Ichigo's left. Zakuro stood behind them, looking off at the Arena where Zeisha was performing. "Miss Zakuro, are you going to come sit? It's nice just to look at the sky."

"I'm thinking." Zakuro replied to Mint's question simply, before she began walking off to where she was just staring. "I'll talk to you guys later." And that was all she said before she quickly walked off.

"I wonder what she's thinking about." Ichigo watched her walk away, as Mint shrugged her shoulders only slightly.

"It's Zakuro. We'll never know." Lettuce sighed. The rest nodded, before looking back up to the sky.

---

"Ohmygosh that concert was amazing! She really doesn't use synthesizers to make herself sound better!" Out-of-breath crowds of people were walking out of the Arena at a very steady pace. Zakuro was like a fish trying to swim upriver, pushing her way in-between person after person, and it took her a good five minutes just to get to the front door. A security guard was showing people out, but then stopped Zakuro as she tried to walk in.

"I'm sorry Miss, no re-entry." He said, not even looking at her. Zakuro sighed, and just waited a few seconds. The man put his hand down, and she slid right past him on the other side of the line of people walking out. She found the same woman that she spoke with before, and walked up, a slight smile on her face. The lady quickly stopped talking into her headpiece, and smiled at Zakuro. She was defiantly tired and frazzled: her hair was messy and she had dark circles under her eyes.

"Miss Fujiwara! Are you here to see Zeisha? How did you like the show? Here, come this way, I'll take you to her." She turned without a reply, and Zakuro had no choice but to quickly follow. She turned down a hallway, and was escorted into a room, and the door was shut quietly behind them. Zeisha looked up from her shoes, blinking her eyes quickly. Her forehead was beaded with sweat, and she had put up her black-streaked raven hair in a messy bun. She had redressed in paint-splattered jeans, getting rid of the baggy, chained pants she was wearing before. She had pulled a black and red stripped knit zip-up sweater over her corset. She had just finished putting back on her boots when Zakuro walked in. She smiled, but then looked back down at her shoes to finish lacing them up.

"Hello Zakuro. You enjoy the show?" Zeisha talked to her foot, before she pulled the leg of her jeans down over the black leather. Zakuro nodded, smiling to the singer. Zeisha giggled, standing up and ruffling her hair. "I know what you go through now… Man I didn't know performing could be so tough."

"Getting ready is defiantly a challenge in its own. The performance itself is an entirely different story." Zakuro agreed, looking at Zeisha's pale hands. Something caught her eye, and this wasn't blush this time. Before Zeisha could put on black fingerless gloves, Zakuro reached for her hands. "I'm sorry if this seems rude… But may I see your hands?"

"Oh, this?" Zeisha held out her left hand, and grinned. In-between her index finger and thumb was a red crescent moon with a star next to it. All over her fingers a knuckles was an intricate pattern of curving lines and swirls, some curves lining up her pinky and index finger. Waves were branches from the pattern up her middle finger to her knuckle, and her ring finger had lines that curved around it like a snake. All of this was colored a bright red. "Pretty, isn't it?"

"Where'd you get it? Pretty amazing pattern." Zakuro turned over Zeisha's hand. The pattern was only on the back of her hand, and only on her left one. Zakuro made a huge mental note about this.

"I honestly don't know. I remember seeing the pattern in my mind, and I bet that I got it tattooed on the next day. Wouldn't be the first time I saw something on me and got it right after." Zeisha pointed to her lip piercing, and smiled. "Impulse thing. So far, most people have liked it. So I'm not regretting it." Zeisha pulled her hand back and pulled on the gloves, some of the designs that were on her fingers were still visible. She turned to Zakuro, and sighed, her shoulder heaving up and down while she did so. "Well, I'm sorry to shove you off like this, but I'd really like to get home. I'm exhausted. It was very nice meeting you…" She extended her hand to shake, and Zakuro accepted.

"Very nice meeting you too, Zeisha. May we meet again." Zakuro opened the door for her, and she walked out, turning out of backstage and walking into the back seat of a dark black car. Zakuro followed her out, and walked down the empty street. All she heard was her heels clicking on the cement, the soft wind blowing through her long hair. She stopped on a small bridge, and looked over a park. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and she whirled around. She glared up, baring her teeth like a wolf.

"Hey now, calm down little doggie." Kish had his hands resting on the back of his head, while floating in the air in front of Zakuro. He grinned, before moving slightly closer to her. "Why are we wandering out here so late at night?"

"None of your business." Zakuro spat back, readying herself to fight. He laughed at her, and floated back up into the air, further away from her.

"Now come on, do we _always_ have to fight when we encounter? That's a little much now. I just wanted to say what an excellent find you and your little team have cooked up now! I can't wait to see how she's like…" Kish never finished his sentence, and grinned deviously at Zakuro, before he disappeared.

She looked around, before running down the street. She ran, before pushing open the doors of the Café. She walked into the back, into the Lab. Keiichiro jumped and almost spilled his drink when Zakuro slammed open the door. "Miss Zakuro! Why are you slamming things around now?" He said, a slight smile on his face. "Ryou is in bed now but-"

"Keiichiro. This isn't the time for smiling. I just had a run in with one of the Aliens." Zakuro walked over, before standing next to him. He gasped, and quickly followed up by asking, "What? Did you fight?"

"No Keiichiro, they did not fight me. But they have noticed Zeisha. And they've taken a liking to her." Zakuro locked eye contact before turning to walk out. "I'd suggest telling Ryou before anything else can happen to her." And without another word, she soundlessly exited the Lab and the Café, and walked off into the night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Just Sing Zeisha**

"Zeisha, darling, can you look over your Chemistry work for me? You need to finish this section by today." The young girl was sprawled out on her bed, shuffling through stacks of paper until she pulled out one that was completed. Zeisha looked up, right into the eyes of her Mother. Her mother's gentle face was slightly wrinkled, a woman who's seen over 50 years of her life pass by. Her brown eyes complemented her graying brown hair, thrown up in a small bun. She pushed up her small glasses and read over Zeisha's work, as her daughter went and put the stacks of paper in the desk beside her bed. Her mother smiled, handing back her work. "Very good job Zeisha. I couldn't have asked for a better daughter to home school. You're so diligent with your work, even with your amazing voice and talent for performing." Zeisha rolled her eyes slightly, looking to the computer that had helped her get around 20 of those questions answered. But she pretended like it was never there.

"I'm not perfect though, Alisha." Zeisha's smile faded as she watched Alisha stand up from her chair and wander towards the door. She slid herself to the edge of her bed and let her thin legs hang over the side. "I don't even know who my real mother is. Why did she leave me at the orphanage Alisha? Why did my own mother abandon me?" Zeisha's dark green eyes showed a hint of urgency.

"Your mother was only fourteen when she gave birth to you. She couldn't take care of you, and left you on the orphanage doorstep one night." Alisha looked over her shoulder at Zeisha when responding, and then turned away to leave her room. "I'll leave you to your own-"

"But there must have been a reason to why she conceived me. What was I? Was I planned? A mistake? I should know this! Aren't I old enough? Mature enough?" Zeisha swallowed down the lump in her throat as she quickly walked after Alisha, grabbing her adopted mother's arm. "Please Alisha! Tell me."

"Zeisha, darling, it's rude to grab people's arms." Zeisha let go of Alisha's arm, as Alisha placed her small hand on Zeisha's shoulder. "I know you're desperate to know about your mother. But you are not mature enough to know what actually happened. I'll tell you when I think you're ready to hear it. Right now, you're not ready. Now please, drop the subject and continue with your work." With that note, Alisha walked down the stairs, leaving Zeisha at the top, blinking ferociously to stop tears. Zeisha turned around quickly, hair blowing out in a fan before she shoved the door shut behind her. Running across her room, she sat in her window seat, glaring out the window. The sun was slowly starting to set, casting the sky in a beautiful array of orange, red, and violet. She rested her head on the warm window, watching a flock of birds fly by slowly. Suddenly, her door slowly creaked open, and a large male Siberian husky pushed his way into the room. He barked loudly, trotting over to Zeisha. She smiled, pulling the upper half of the dog's body into her lap; the dog's tail wagging happily. His blue eyes blinked, as he tilted his head when Zeisha didn't look at him. He licked her arm, and panted happily when she smiled at him.

"Kieran, what am I supposed to do…" Kieran looked at her, stopping his panting for a quick two seconds. "Alisha says she loves me. But…" She swallowed another lump. "Forget about it! Let's go outside for once. You need to exercise out on the beach, and I need to get my mind off things!" She stood up as Kieran ran out of her room, barking happily. She smiled at her dog, and quickly ran to her dresser. She already had eyeliner and green eye shadow on, and her hair was let down. She had black jeans on, and quickly threw on red plaid Converse. She wore a purple corset, with black lace along top and bottom. The back was tied together with black ribbons, exposing her bare back only slightly.

"Zeisha? Where are you taking Kieran?" Alisha looked up from her knitting work, noticing Zeisha putting a leash on him. Zeisha looked up, nodding her head to outside, and stood up her with her dog already on his leash. "Answer me. Exactly where." Zeisha was turned around, so she knew she could roll her eyes without Alisha seeing. But when she turned around, she was smiling brightly.

"Alisha, it's summer! Time for dogs to run! He's a husky, he needs space to move! I was going to take him down to the beach." Without waiting for a response, she ran out the door, leaving Alisha right as she was about to speak.

Zeisha smiled, running down the street with Kieran at her side. People moved out of their way as fast as they could, noticing that the two are never going to slow down. Kieran barked loudly, and started to slow down to a fast walk. He was panting happily, and Zeisha looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "Kieran, why did you slow down?" She turned back around, and almost slammed into Ryou's chest. He stopped her shoulders with his hands, and once he touched Zeisha she jumped back, glaring at him. Kieran growled, but Zeisha pet his head to calm him down. She looked up slightly guarded at him, she never really trusted strangers. But she put on her mask of a performer who was well used to people once he spoke.

"You don't pay attention to where you're going, and you'll run into someone like you almost did." Ryou grinned at her, and Zeisha rolled her eyes. Her eyebrow and lip piercing glinted in the sunlight.

"Keep giving girls smart ass remarks you'll get nothing from girls' your entire life. No girl will ever take two glances at you if you treat them like shit." Zeisha cocked her head to the side, grinning. She ran her hand through her hair, noticing Ryou following her tattooed hand. "Here. You can look." She held out her hand, and Ryou grinned.

"You're that singer. Zeisha, am I correct?" Ryou looked up from her tattoo, and she nodded, grinning only slightly. "Pleasure to meet you. My name is Ryou Shirogane." Zeisha nodded, as Kieran jumped up onto Ryou, almost pushing him over. Zeisha smiled slightly as Ryou shoved Kieran off of him.

"This is Kieran. He's already said hello. He was just reinforcing it now." Zeisha smiled, before walking to the side of Ryou. "I'm sorry, but we were on our way to the beach. We're going to run for a little while. Nice bumping into you Mr. Shirogane. Good day." Zeisha pulled on her dog's leash, and the two continued down the sidewalk, only at a slower pace as before. Ryou pulled out a cell phone and pushed a speed dial. He held it up to his ear, waiting for it to ring. Someone's voice answered on the end, and Ryou grinned. "She's heading to the beach. And I got a first hand look at that famous 'tattoo' of her's. It might be what we're looking for."

The waves crashed on the beach loudly. Zeisha walked down the rocky portion of the beach, the seashells crunching underneath her feet. Kieran was already splashing through the shallows of the water. His belly fur was dripping with heavy salt water. Zeisha smiled at her dog and sat down in a small sandy patch, watching Kieran with eyes like a hawk. She giggled, but her giggle was cut short when she heard someone walking over the shells to her right. She looked up, meeting eyes with Ichigo and Lettuce. Ichigo was towing Pudding on her shoulders, who was giggling and playing with two shells. She looked up, saw Kieran looking at them, and pointed at the dog. "Doggie!" Pudding ran right at Kieran, who ran away from the over excited child. Zeisha tensed up slightly, she was ready to call Kieran and run if someone started screaming about her being there.

"Can you get your little midget to stop chasing my dog please? He doesn't like strangers doing that." Zeisha snapped at them, glaring at Ichigo. She laughed uneasily, taken aback from Zeisha's sudden demand. But she should understand the slight rudeness by now. She worked with two performers. They were exactly that same way sometimes.

"Oh, Pudding! Leave him alone!" Ichigo loudly yelled at Pudding, who, as usual, didn't listen and just kept after the husky who was far faster. Ichigo turned to Zeisha, who had one eyebrow raised and was ready for Ichigo to leave and grab Pudding herself. Ichigo laughed uneasily, and pointed to Pudding. "I can't really do anything about her. Definition of a monkey, I swear!" Zeisha stood up, brushing off sand from her jeans. She flicked her hair over her shoulder and looked at Ichigo out of the corner of her eyes. Ichigo rubbed the back of her head, trying to think of someway to keep Zeisha there. Ichigo looked at Zeisha's hand and smiled brightly. She grabbed Zeisha's hand, pulling her back and forcing her to communicate. "Ohmigosh! You're Zeisha! Wow!" Zeisha smiled uneasily, pulling her hand away and rolling her eyes. She looked over her shoulder to Kieran, who had stopped running, and now stood in the water with Pudding jumping around him happily.

"Yeah, I don't get to go outside as a normal person often. Don't scream that I'm here. Including text messages." Zeisha ran a hand through her hair. Ichigo promised her wouldn't and asked Zeisha if she didn't like being outside while not performing. "I'm not used to so many people looking at me and stuff. If pictures were taken, I didn't see them." She shrugged, smiling slightly when Ichigo started laughing. "So, you know who I am. Real question is who are you two?"

"My name is Ichigo Momomiya and this is Lettuce Midorikawa. That over there is Pudding Fon." Lettuce smiled and bowed to Zeisha, who returned a smaller one. Ichigo smiled, as Lettuce pulled on her friend' fingers. Ichigo looked over her should at Lettuce, who nodded out to the ocean. Zeisha figured they were looking at Pudding, so she didn't look behind her. But Lettuce noticed a large shadow in the water… and it was getting bigger. Fish fins broke the surface, causing Kieran to run back to Zeisha's side, and he watched it, growling slightly. Ichigo nodded, turning back to Zeisha, who was petting Kieran on the head. Lettuce picked up Pudding. She quickly said that she should get pudding home, and bowed at Zeisha before waving at Ichigo and walking off.

"Those two seem nice. You always hang around with them?" Ichigo nodded happily.

"Yeah, I work with them. You can call them my teammates, I guess." She smiled, before quickly taking a glance to the kirema anima coming closer to them. "Hey, Zeisha. I know this may be an odd request, but I've had a song stuck in my head for a while and I wondered if you could sing it for me." Kieran barked loudly at the kirema anima behind them, but Zeisha just looked down and shushed him loudly. He whined, pawing at Zeisha's feet.

"Uhm, I normally don't do this for strangers…" She looked up, seeing Ichigo's pleading eyes. "But I guess I can do it for you once. You did keep the fact that I'm here on the down low…" While Zeisha was distracted, Mew Pudding ran out and quickly distracted the alien, Mew Lettuce behind her and helping. Ichigo smiled, and looked up in the air, pretending to think.

"Well… If you play the DDR series… It's the beginning of the song called Xepher. You know it?" Ichigo's grin got wider when Zeisha nodded and laughed.

"It's only my favorite songs on the game. Of course I know it." Zeisha cleared her throat, and closed her eyes. While Zeisha was silent, Mew Pudding lured Kieran away with a dog treat, his tail wagging happily. Mew Lettuce attracted the kirema anima closer to Zeisha and Ichigo. Before it could even try to attack Zeisha or Ichigo, Zeisha began to sing.

"Existing in this place, now are un cleanable lies…" The kirema anima slowed down and twitched, moving away from Zeisha's voice. Mew Lettuce forced it to move back to her singing. "I wonder when it has begun, how far do…" Zeisha held out this note, and it tortured the kirema anima. It withered in pain, backing away from her and soon, it cried out loudly. Zeisha cut off her note, turning around. She gasped, covering her mouth. Kieran ran to her side, as he growled loudly at the alien. His tail stood on end, teeth bared in a deadly grin. Zeisha turned to Ichigo, but she was gone.

"Zeisha, sing! Just sing Zeisha!" Zeisha looked over, and a pink haired Mew Mew commanded her to continue her song. "I know, we're Mews, we should handle this. Just sing!"

Zeisha debated running. They could handle it, Mew Ichigo said so themselves. She grabbed Kieran's collar, and pulled him away from the alien. But then something inside her clicked. She had to sing foe them. And for some odd reason, her feet wouldn't move and her mind was set on getting rid of the abomination in front of her. Kieran broke away from her grip and ran at the alien. This made Zeisha's decision solid. She wouldn't risk her life for these Mews, but she would for her dog. Zeisha stood up straight, holding her hands down on her diaphragm, and took a deep breath in right when the kirema anima lunged at her dog. "I have to go to see the light?" She sang this loud and strong, with a slight yell to it. It sounded like something off her album. Suddenly, a light emitted from her body. The kirema anima screamed, as Mew Ichigo leapt up in the air, yelling something through Zeisha's singing. The fish was separated from the parasite, and the fish swam off as Masha ate the alien.

"Alright! Good job guys." Mew Ichigo smiled at her teammates, and turned to Zeisha before dropping her weapon. She gasped, covering her mouth with a gloved hand. Zeisha finished singing, but fell to her knees, shells cutting into her knees. Kieran ran to her side and licked her cheek, as she reached up, petting his muzzle. "Zeisha? Is that you?"

"Who else would it be?" Her voice was dripping with sarcasm as she up. She wobbled a little bit, and steadied herself. Kieran helped her balance by leaning on one side of her legs. "Why did you ask me to sing anyway? I don't understand. You guys can handle it yourself! You almost hurt my dog, and he's my life!" Zeisha glared at Mew Ichigo, who's cat ears had flattened and she looked at the sand. Zeisha was pissed. Really pissed. Ever inch of her manners they saw were out the window. Zeisha looked them over again, before stopping on Mew Lettuce and Mew Pudding. "You two! Stop starring at me! Why, are you envious or something of a normal girl who can sing? Why are you looking at me like this…" Her voice trailed off as Mew Lettuce walked over slowly, pulling out a small compact mirror.

"See for yourself." Mew Lettuce opened the mirror. Zeisha's jaw dropped, and she screamed, cracking the mirror and rippling the waves on the ocean.


	4. Chapter 4

**Painted**

As Zeisha screamed, all the Mews reached up and covered their ears. Mew Ichigo yelled in pain because the sound was excruciating. Mew Lettuce dropped her mirror where it completely shattered on a small rock. When Zeisha stopped screaming she looked at the three's reactions. The Mews slowly opened their eyes and took another look at Zeisha. The new Zeisha. She wasn't the only one shocked on how she looked.

Her black streaked raven hair had its colors flipped: the main color was black with streaks of both white and dirty gold. The gold color looked like that of savannah grass. The hazel in her eyes ran together with the dark green, lightening them to a cold yellow-green. The tattoo on her left hand had brightened to a light pink, standing out against Zeisha's now tanner skin. Both her eyebrow and lip piercing had stayed, becoming two golden rings.

On top of her head were two large, rounded ears. The ears were black with stripes of that same dirty yellow down the center, and tipped white. Her top was a dirty golden corset. It had no sleeves, and the back was only a mess of criss-crossing black strings holding the corset tight to her torso. The top had the classic lining of a Mew Mew: a line of fluff across the front. For Zeisha, this was colored white. Her two arm bands were not as poofed-out as the other girls', but were pulled tight to her thin arms and were lined top and bottom with the white fur. She wore a black mini-skirt that looked like Zakuro's, however, this was also a dirty gold with a small lining of black lace underneath it that reach just to the top of her knees. On her left leg was another band like the ones on her arms, and like all the other Mews. Zeisha wore small sandals that were tied to her calves with golden ribbons. Behind her a thin tail twitched back and forth, agitated. The base was the reoccurring dirty gold, then there was a stripe of black, and the rest of it was white.

And, of course, around Zeisha's neck was a tight, golden collar lined with white fur. Hanging from it was the Mew pendent, glinting innocently. Zeisha reached up and felt the pendent, noticing that her skin color had darkened into a deep tan. Her eyes returned to Mew Ichigo and Mew Lettuce. Mew Pudding was hiding slightly behind Mew Lettuce, rubbing her ears from the scream that had deafened her almost two seconds ago. Zeisha then looked down to Kieran, who hadn't ran away. She knelt down to her dog, letting him take in the smell of her skin. He whined, pawing at the sand near her feet. Zeisha pet his head for a few seconds, before turning to the girls standing before her. Mew Ichigo was the first to speak.

"You're a Mew… He was right." Mew Ichigo took a step forward, smiling. "Mew Zeisha. It's so great to have you with us now." Mew Ichigo turned to Mew Lettuce and Mew Pudding behind them, nodding. The three smiled, and all transformed back into their normal selves. Mew Zeisha watched Ichigo closely when she approached her again. Mew Zeisha took a step back, but then her ears pricked up straight as she caught the sound of someone walking towards her. She looked over her shoulder and spotted Zakuro and Mint walking over the sand to meet the others. Close behind them was Ryou. Zeisha looked back at Ichigo. One of them must have contacted all the others.

"S-Stay away from me!" Mew Zeisha backed away from all of the people around her, Kieran standing up and beginning to growl at them. Every stopped, but only Zakuro continued forward. When she saw Zakuro coming closer, Mew Zeisha bared her teeth at Zakuro and her ears laid flat on her head. "This must be some freaked out dream! I can't be an animal girl!" Zakuro flipped her hair over her shoulder, and then sighed. She looked out to the sea and transformed. Mew Zeisha's look softened slightly when she saw Mew Zakuro standing before her.

"This isn't a dream. You are not imagining things either." Mew Zakuro spoke with a tone like an instructor, laying it all out flat for Mew Zeisha. "You are the sixth member of Tokyo Mew Mew. You are one of us now." Ryou placed a hand on Mew Zakuro's shoulder, who had quickly transformed back to normal.

"Zeisha. Please this about turning back into normal, I can help explain what's going on." Ryou raised an eyebrow when Zeisha rolled her eyes at him before she closed her eyes and returned to normal. Zeisha looked at her hair and her clothes before she let out a sigh. When Ryou began to speak again she looked up to him. "Like the others have said, you are, in fact, a Mew. My partner and I had been experimenting with another set of animal genes, and… I guess this specific set had decided to look for a compatible girl to merge with. This would explain the dream you've been having lately, if what Mint has told me was correct."

"What?" Zeisha's jaw dropped, looking at Mint. Mint smiled shyly, shrugging her shoulders. "How dare you mess with me. How do you know of my dreams? If so, what are in them? You're probably not smart enough to find that one out." Zeisha snapped at Mint, her green eyes flashed with anger. "You possibly can't follow the beat of the drums that call to me at night." Mint looked up, noticing that Zeisha had recited a lyric from one of her songs. "And I trusted another performer. Last time I do that again."

"Zeisha please… You just have to understand…" Ichigo reached for Zeisha's hand, but Ichigo's hand was slapped away. Kieran growled as Zeisha continued to move away from the group. His fur stood on end, and his teeth were bared in a menacing grin.

"Understand? You're telling me to understand? I've understood nothing my entire life! Try going through life having everything hidden from you." Zeisha looked the group over, swallowing down the lump in her throat again. She furiously thought to herself, - _No, I can't cry now. Crying shows you are weak. I can be strong. I can be. –_

"Zeisha." Zakuro commanded her attention, but Zeisha didn't look at her. Zakuro looked at the young performer. Zeisha reminded her so much of herself. Always bared her fangs at other people before giving them a chance. Zakuro walked closer to Zeisha, but then was blocked by Kieran who moved in front of his owner. "Understand this. We need you. You need to band with us, if not only for a little bit. I didn't want to join either." Zeisha looked up at Zakuro from the corner of her eye. "I wanted nothing to do with this caravan of freaks. But they needed me, much like we need you now." Zeisha sighed, and looked right at Zakuro. Kieran stopped growling quickly, and looked up at his owner.

"I'm just so confused." Zeisha admitted, lowering her head. "I'm so tired of everything being a big surprise to me." Zakuro smiled, happy that she got the girl to accept what had just happened. Zeisha looked at Ryou, and blinked her eyes once. "Ryou, please go on." Ryou smiled slightly, and nodded.

"Zeisha, you're very unique. First of all, you have… let's say the most interesting outfit of all the Mews. You are also the first Mew that didn't get your animal genes injected by means of an… accident." The five original girls giggled, and Ryou ignored them. "You got your genes by compatibility. They entered to your mind through your dreams, and fused with you in those means."

Lettuce pushed up her glasses, quietly stepping up with Ichigo and Pudding. The three stood next to Zeisha's left side, and the others were on her right. "Ryou, what is Zeisha's animal?" She asked quietly, thankful she never needed to talk too loudly to have people hear her.

"Oh yes. _Lycaon pictus_." Ryou smiled, and then grinned as soon as he saw everyone, especially Ichigo's completely confused expression. "The African Wild Dog. But, to us, we know it as the Painted Wolf." Everyone smiled at Zeisha, who kicked the sand, ignoring that fact that everyone was staring at her.

"Wow! Is it really painted!?" Pudding smiled innocently. Ryou shook his head, and sighed. Pudding bounced over to Zeisha, and pulled on her jeans. Zeisha looked down at the little girl. "Man, for a performer you really seem awkward around people sometimes!" Pudding, being as blunt as usual, said this quite loudly. A small line of pink started to blush over Zeisha's face, making Pudding giggle loudly.

"I… I'm sorry? Do you want me to talk more or something…?" Zeisha rubbed the back of her head, looking away from the group up to the sky. When she felt Pudding still pulling on her jeans, she stepped backwards, yanking the fabric out of the little girl's hands. "Look, I'm not good with working with… a group of people I barely know. I work well with my agents, my band, that's it. Everyone else is a stranger."

"But we're your teammates now! We're no longer strangers!" Ichigo smiled brightly, walking slowly to Zeisha. Kieran's ears perked up as Ichigo and Pudding suddenly wrapped their arms around his owner. Zeisha stiffened up, looking completely out of place and confused. Lettuce and Mint joined in the hug, and Zakuro ruffled Zeisha's hair. Only Zakuro saw Zeisha's blush, and the small smile that crossed her face.

_­-You know… Maybe being with this group isn't such a bad thing…-_ Zeisha smiled at the thought. Someone actually wanting her around. It sounded lovely.

* * *

"We'll see you tomorrow, ok Zeisha?" Ichigo smiled as Zeisha pulled Kieran back on his leash when she got back onto a main road. Zeisha smiled, nodding slightly. Zakuro walked up to Zeisha, and looked her in the eye. Zeisha returned the steady gaze, but blinked when Zakuro put her hand on Zeisha's shoulder.

"Trust is a difficult thing. I don't know about your past, but don't let it affect your decisions in the future." And with a grin, Zakuro turned away from the younger performer and walked off with her group of Mews. Mint looked jealous that Zakuro spoke so much to Zeisha already. It took her forever to get Zakuro to speak with her normally! The groups went their separate ways, Zeisha taking her time going home and letting everything settle in.

"Oh look… The wolves are starting to make a pack."

On a nearby roof, Pie and Kish examined the situation carefully. Kish grinned maliciously, and laughed to himself. Pie watched Zeisha before stating, "The new one has trust problems. It has something to do with her past." Kish looked to his partner, still grinning.

"Yes, a past I've looked into and know about. I know just how to get to her."


	5. Chapter 5

**Betrayed**

"Come on out Zeisha!" Pudding was pulling on Zeisha's arm, trying to drag her out in front of the rest of the girls standing around in the Café. The young, new Mew was resisting the constant yanking, gripping onto something behind her. The other four girls could only see Zeisha's arm in the doorway, and Zakuro rolled her eyes. "Come on! They wanna see what you look like! Come onnn!" Zeisha had showed up during the last open hour of the Café, and for the past ten minutes fought against Pudding's pulling.

"No! This is not my style at all! I am going to take this off- I swear to God you're going to pull my arm out Pudding! Stop it!" Zeisha yelled back, yanking her arm out of Pudding bear trap grip. Zeisha gingerly rubber her wrist, but didn't get to brace herself before Ryou pushed her out in the doorway where the rest of the girls could finally see her totally out of her element. In a café outfit. Zeisha yelped, and tried to run away, but Ryou pushed her back out, grinning the entire time. "I am going to kill you…" She muttered underneath her breath.

"Oh you look so cute!" Ichigo smiled and clapped her hands together. Zeisha didn't make eye contact. Her lip and eyebrow piercing were just black studs at the moment, and her long hair was slightly pushed back from the uniform's crown. The colors on the outfit were like her Mew uniform. The main color was the dark, dirty gold and all of the accents were black. The colors that were white on everyone else's uniform were white on Zeisha's uniform as well, which off set the accents of black. "It totally is you!"

"No it's not at all." Zeisha pulled on the bow behind her back and made a disgusted face. Mint laughed at her reaction, and took a gentle sip of her tea. Pudding bounced around Zeisha, trying to get a look from all angles. "And what are people going to think? Me? Working at a café? They'll think my entire singing career went down the tank!" Zeisha shook her head violently. Lettuce gently pushed her glasses up her nose, and quietly coughed.

"Some people don't realize it's Zakuro actually working here sometimes…" She smiled softly, trying not to get on Zeisha's bad side. Zeisha looked to Zakuro who shrugged her shoulders and walked to the front of the café to switch the sign from "open" to "closed". Zeisha watched her move, perfect posture, perfect flow, perfect everything. How could people not know that was Zakuro? Were they all really that dumb? They must be.

"Next time though Zeisha, maybe you could come in time to help us. We have a new member, so she should chip in at work too." Ryou said passively, and walked into the back room. Zeisha glared at him and sighed, pulling down the skirt of the uniform once, counting to ten in her head slowly. Trying to ignore him, he was just a dumb guy. Zakuro was starting to walk back from the door when Zeisha finally couldn't be the good little girl anymore.

"Some of us have careers that actually pay us a decent amount of money to live, ass-face." Zeisha rolled her eyes and stalked off into the back room, the new shoes loudly slamming against the linoleum. She came back out in less then five minutes, completely changed back into her street clothes: a pair of torn jeans, black platform boots and a black t-shirt splattered with neon paint. She carried the uniform in a messenger bag and continued to the door. "So, tell me when you're willing to pay me what I get now. And maybe I'll consider working in this poofy pink hell hole." She called over her shoulder as she pushed open the door, and then quickly turned around and slammed the door behind her. Pudding looked insulted as Lettuce pat the younger girl's shoulder. Ichigo sighed and shook her head, and then spun on her heel and stormed into the kitchen. Not soon after, you could hear her yelling at Ryou, but if he was listening, no one knew. Zakuro didn't care either. Instead, she turned quickly into the restroom to change out of her uniform, then walked out and went after Zeisha.

* * *

Zeisha walked confidently down the street, keeping her large aviators over her eyes. She pushed against people to make sure she had her own path through the sidewalk, and stopped on a bridge. She looked at the park down below her and debated on joining some of the people down in the field. But she was a loner, if she went down there, all she would be meted by would be autograph cards and cameras. To live a double life as a singer and a home-schooled child was hard enough. Adding being a Mew into the mix? Didn't help her. Maybe she should just go it alone…

"What's up with you?" Zeisha jumped and yelped, and she whipped around to see Zakuro standing next to her, leaning on the railing of the bridge as if she was just talking to an old friend. Zeisha sighed, and then turned back to watch the children playing games in the park. "Ignoring me won't help with your argument. Storming out of the Café earlier didn't either."

"Why are you stalking me? As far as I'm concerned, I don't need to really associate with your merry animal girls unless I have to." Zeisha spat back, keeping her aviators on so Zakuro would never really know where she was looking.

"Reminder Zeisha. You're an animal girl too." Zakuro smiled, just agreeing to play Zeisha's game for the time being. "Plus, I am supposed to be the one you relate to the most. We're both totally out of our element with this entire group. You can agree with me on that one."

"You'll have to bite me before I do anything with you guys." Zeisha growled. Zakuro sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Can't get any more animal genes in you. What, you want to be a giant painted werewolf or something?" Zakuro teased, and she knew she had Zeisha when she saw Zeisha shoulder's shudder as she laughed. "You see, you can open up to other people that aren't in your band once in a while." Zeisha looked over her shoulder to Zakuro and smiled slightly, pushing up her aviators so they rested on top of her head. The smile even reached her eyes. "Now, if you really don't want to work in the poofy café, I'd go with you. But I'm sorry, it kind of just comes with being one of us."

The sentimental moment was cut short by Zeisha's cell phone ringing loudly in her jeans pocket. Zeisha raised one finger and whipped out the phone and held it up to her ear. "Hey Bry… Yeah I'm good for tonight… Meeting with the Manager? I'll be there… Wait, what? When was this decided? _He_ decided this?" She laughed, pushing her aviators back up to the top of her head. "And when did he become the final voice? I'll be there tonight. Seven o'clock at The Pit? Yep. See you there." She clicked the 'End' button on the phone before sighing. She almost forgot Zakuro was standing next to her until Zakuro looked down on the park. "Band meeting tonight…" Zeisha shrugged.

"Sounds like you guys are going to be busy soon." Zakuro brushed a few strands of hair out of her face, looking to Zeisha who seemed like she was avoiding eye contact. "What is your merry group up to?"

"Oh not much… Tour in Japan has a few more stops… Another couple of months…" Zeisha rubbed the back of her head. Under Zakuro's stare, she felt exposed, and if she couldn't cover anything over. "And we're leaving for America after a few months of break apparently… I'm not complaining of course," Zeisha shrugged. She was waiting for Zakuro's response telling her that she couldn't go. Just because of the Mew girls she now was acquainted with.

"I understand. I need to leave for periods at a time for model stuff. Just… not months at a time." Zakuro tried to comfort Zeisha, who relaxed. At least she understood. At least someone did.

"However, for over a year is not acceptable." The two of the girls whipped around, and Zeisha's smile quickly evaporated into a grimace. Ichigo and Mint were standing where the voice came from, however it was neither of them who spoke. The little pink floating robot Ichigo always carried around must be on some speaker setting: It was Ryou who was speaking.

"God dammit, can't I get one hour without you listening in you creeper?" Zeisha snarled. "You and your god damn pink-haired puppet… You'll do whatever he asks you, won't you?" Ichigo flinched from her words.

"Leave Ichigo out of this Zeisha. She has no part in this; blame Masha for being able to tap into your conversation. Basic line is that you can't leave for a year." Ryou's voice snapped a nerve in Zeisha. She stormed over to Masha, who was pulled away from her by Ichigo. Mint stood, ready to retaliate against any attack from Zeisha. Zakuro grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the other two. "You can't leave Zeisha."

"Shut up." Zeisha muttered, looking down at the ground. "There is no god damn way I'm skipping out on my career… My band for this new lifestyle you guys want to shove me into. You can all go on without me, and fucking deal without me being here." She locked eyes with Masha, hoping that Ryou would see how furious she was. In fact, she was dangerous, boiling over, unable to control herself. Ichigo and the other started to look worried.

"There's nothing you can say to convince me otherwise Zeisha. I'm sorry. You have to tell your band no." Ryou still couldn't get the fact he needed to leave her alone.

"Tell my band no?" Zeisha whipped her arm out of Zakuro's grasp. "How about I do what I should have done when this whole thing started?" She was taking deep breaths, and smiling like she had a plan. Her eyes glinted, but not with anything reassuring to the other girls around her. Zakuro, suddenly realizing her plan, whipped around and covered her ears as fast as she could, but Ichigo's and Mint's reactions were not fast enough.

Zeisha sang loudly, and just like her main loud hits in her music, kept a slight growl in her voice. Ichigo and Mint screamed and fell over, writhing to cover her ears. Masha squeaked and flew away, but not fast enough for Ryou to almost pass out from Zeisha's singing. Zeisha dropped the note, suddenly looking around. People were rushing to the sound of her singing, noticing the fact that it wasn't natural, no one could sing that loud without a microphone. She looked down on herself. _–Damn it all…-_ She thought bitterly as she leapt down into the park below. She transformed in the middle of her singing and she didn't even realize it. When her feet made contact with the grass below her, she kept running. She whipped past kids playing and families enjoying their evening. A couple was walking in the opposite direction that she was moving, and she shoved the man over as she pushed her way in between them.

Mew Zeisha kept running until she was into the woods of the park. Lone biking trails winded through, but she knew she would be alone for now. She leaned against a tree and took in deep breaths, feeling the cool air rush into her lungs. She was about to relax and consider herself alone, if it wasn't for her suddenly better sense of hearing. Both ears flicked over to the side, and her eyes followed after. Mew Zeisha sighed and relaxed. It was only a falling tree branch that snapped through the trees as it fell on its way down. If it couldn't be happy, why not take out a few others on your way down. What a good way to go. She reached up and felt the pendent around her neck, practically showing her off as a Mew. What she would give to get back at those five girls and their blonde ringleader. What they would pay for trying to control her.

Suddenly, someone grabbed Mew Zeisha from behind, covering her mouth with one hand and restraining her wrists together with the other. She screamed, but her voice was muffled and could barley be heard. She pulled against the grip, but another man appeared out of nowhere in front of her. He had short hair, huge ears, and had a totally impassive expression. And he was floating. Mew Zeisha was ready to fight against this obvious threat to her, but someone else spoke in her ear. Another man. "Zeisha, we did not come to harm you. My name is Kish… And the man in front of you is Pie. It may not seem like it now… But we're here to help you." Mew Zeisha looked over her shoulder, get bright green eyes meeting Kish's lightning yellow own. "If you promise not to use your singing, I will let you go to let you speak. But if you would honor us with hearing us out…" Kish let go of Mew Zeisha, as she gasped for breath and stood between the two aliens.

"I don't need anyone else to help me." Mew Zeisha spat at them. Kish smiled.

"You say that… But you really mean those five girls don't you? You don't need them to help you." Kish moved over to Pie's side, and she finally noticed they were both floating. "Come on, you don't need those girls. They want to hold you back from your fame, from what you deserve."

"And what makes you think that you two will give me something better then that? I should just go alone, and keep it that way." Mew Zeisha's tail flicked nervously, and her ears were constantly moving around to hear if anyone else was coming near them. "I mean, you look about as freaking as they do."

Kish laughed, and it chilled her. She wanted to know what they wanted right up front. Stop beating around the bush. She's had enough of that her entire life. When Kish stopped laughing, he locked eyes with her. "You only want someone to trust. Give me two days, and I'll be able to show you that we can be trusted."

"What exactly am I to trust you with? You haven't specified this yet…" Mew Zeisha took one step to the two, and a small smile started at the corner of Pie's mouth. That should have warned her, but she didn't care.

"You'll be able to keep your band. You'll be able to go anywhere you want. You'll be told the truth right away for once in your adopted life." Mew Zeisha cringed at that, but tried to not let it show. "Not to mention we can give you more power then those five girls combined." Kish added this with and small grin, and the grin grew even larger when Mew Zeisha held her hand out. Her ears were straight, and her eyes were set. Kish took her hand and shook it, before turning away from her. "I'll see you tomorrow. Meet me… At your balcony." And before she could respond, the two disappeared as fast as they came.

Mew Zeisha stood there. Maybe she made the wrong choice, completely backstabbing the girls. Those two must have been those aliens that they have been fighting against for a long time now. Mew Zeisha looked up at the sky, but there were only a few starts shining through the light pollution. _–Maybe that was wrong… And maybe I should just go along with the thrill ride. Who cares who I hurt in the process…-_ Mew Zeisha grinned, her eyes flashing with danger and a trace of slight insanity. She reached up behind her neck, and with one long fingernail, quickly sliced through the fabric of the choker she was wearing. She held the cloth in her hands, and the pendant glinted almost sadly. Begging her not to go.

Too bad she never liked people who begged.

Mew Zeisha dropped the choker at her feet and ran off in the direction of her house. No more then five minutes later, Mew Lettuce picked up that same choker. She felt the cloth and compared it to her own, hoping it wasn't a fake. But it wasn't. She called for the others, and when they showed up, Mew Lettuce already had some tears welling up in her eyes. Mew Ichigo took Zeisha's choker and started at it. Her ears flattened on her head as Mew Pudding hugged Mew Lettuce's legs tightly, starting to sniffle. Mew Mint hugged Mew Zakuro, but the hug was not returned. Instead, Mew Zakuro looked into the moon.

­_-Zeisha… What have you done…-_ Mew Zakuro thought bitterly, before she turned away with her girls and walked back to where they had to meet Ryou and spare him the news. News they could all live without.


	6. Chapter 6

**Dangerous**

A day had passed from when Zeisha had abandoned her Mew choker in the Park, and the Mews had not seen her since. Zakuro, when walking to her car from a model shoot, looked down the street at a club that was down the street. She sighed and slowly climbed into the Limo, which drove off quickly.

The base from the club could be felt on the pavement a block over. The Pit was an exclusive club for the higher status people of Tokyo. Zeisha's band, Fatal Memory, met there quite regularly for important meetings about the future of their band. Tonight was just like every other meeting night: the band group of five and their manager were sitting in the back of the room, a dim light barely illuminating the sheets of paper in front of them. Zeisha sat in the corner of the booth, arms resting over the top of the seats. Flanking her were the bassist and the guitarist, both were boys with greasy hair, the bassist's being blonde, the guitarist's black. Both were skinny, yet well toned. On either side of them were the ultra-skinny keyboardist, and then the large, muscular drummer. The drummer had a shaved head, while the keyboardists' brown hair was gelled back almost neatly, but still had that messy quality to it. In front of all the band was their well-dressed manager, with a suit and tie and thin, wire framed glassed.

"So, you all are positive about going over to America?" He asked, picking up the papers and taking another swig of his glass of water. "It will take a good chunk of profit from the current tour, but it seems we will get that amount back, and then some. I agree with your decisions." Zeisha grinned, then spotted a waitress and snapped her fingers, pointing down to her empty cocktail in front of her. The waitress nodded and skirted away, quickly returning with another refill. Zeisha smiled and nodded a thank you, taking a long sip herself, and then turning back to her manager.

"I thought Shayne was crazy for agreeing to this earlier and calling this meeting, but…" She turned to the drummer, who grinned cockily. "This tour is a good idea. We all agree." She signed the agreement in her swirly signature, and then handed the sheet back to the Manager. He nodded, stood up, bowed slightly for farewell, and then left as quickly as the meeting had started. Zeisha leaned forward, taking another long sip of her cocktail.

"Slow down there, Seabiscut. Don't need more drinks then you can hold." Shayne laughed at her, taking a sip of his own drink. Zeisha rolled her eyes at him, a small smile creeping over her lips.

"I'm not a driver, I'm not performing tonight, and I need something to calm me down. Rough day, crazy stalkers. Worse then usual. These girls, they acted like… Animals." Zeisha giggled over the last word, and the guitarist laughed as well. She looked over her shoulder to him, and raised an eyebrow. "Dylan, you find something funny?"

"You. I think Isaac finds you pretty hilarious too." Zeisha turned over her other shoulder to the bassist, who stifled a laugh. She rolled her eyes yet again, and finished of her drink. "For a small girl, you can hold a lot of alcohol. I'd be careful and not get too cocky about how much you can drink."

"Oh you guys, she's having fun, let her drink as much as she wants. Plus, if she gets sick, she'll get it out of her system by tomorrow night when we have to perform again." The keyboardist shifted out of his seat so Zeisha was able to crawl out and then stretch out her legs and arms.

"Thank you Derek. But, guys, I'm sorry, but I have to split right now. Thanks for scheduling this Shayne. You all take it easy. I'll see you all tomorrow." Zeisha waved at them, and they all said goodbye. She smiled at them, pushing her aviators a little further onto the top of her head. She began to weave out of the club, the smile slowly fading into a grimace. These boys kept trying to get closer to her, getting right against her smooth skin. She shoved one off her shoulder, glaring at him angrily. He laughed, reaching to her to dance with her again. He reeked of alcohol, causing Zeisha to wrinkle her nose up in disgust. He got her wrist, and in response, Zeisha kicked him square in the chest. Normally, he would have just fallen over, but Zeisha found she got much more power over the past few nights. He flew into the table behind him, tipping it over when he landed. The couple sitting there yelped in surprise and shot up, pulling their drinks up with them. They looked at Zeisha, who had moved over after the man with blinding speed. She growled at the man as he tried to pull himself up. Security ran over, but as quickly as they came, Shayne and Derek got in front of them and looked them into the eyes. They faltered, not wanted to eject their most famous patrons.

"What the hell, you shtupid chick…" The man's words slurred together, but Zeisha reached down and grabbed his shirt collar and lifted him back up. Her fingernails had sharpened into someone more like claws, and when they made contact with his skin, a thin red line of blood appeared. His appearance went from cocky to terrified as all the color drained from his skin.

"Pathetic, disgusting human. Don't. Touch. Me." Zeisha snarled through clenched teeth, and then threw him back down onto the floor with a crash. Other patrons stopped eating and partying around, and only the thundering music was left to hear. No one moved or talked, watching the young singer take down someone at least twice her size. They watched as the security guards backed off, with an extra amount of money stuffed in their pockets. The other band members flanked Zeisha's sides as she walked out of the club, keeping her head held high and refusing to make contact with the other people. His four other band mates did the rest of the intimidating: they glared at anyone who dared to give their young singer an odd look. Once they got outside and away from the club, Zeisha sighed and rubbed her forehead of all the sweat that collected there.

"Zeisha, are you alright?" Isaac asked; his stern look was replaced by a gaze on concern onto Zeisha. She looked over her shoulder to him, and smiled weakly, nodding. She rubbed her temples and sighed deeply, her shoulder rising and falling.

"I'm finally going to head home guys." Meeting their eyes, she smiled and pulled her glasses down, although it was very dark outside. "I'll be fine, I can beat people down. You saw it yourself. Night." She turned towards her house, waving over her shoulder at her band mates, who waited to make sure she wasn't going to pass out on the sidewalk.

After she walked for a while, Zeisha looked over her shoulder to make sure her band members were following her. When she saw they weren't, she sat down onto the curb and stretched out her back. She shook her raven hair down out of her face and looked up to the sky. The stars could barely be seen over the lights of the city, and oddly, is disappointed her. She had never noticed how much she longed to see the natural nightlights, and to not see them made her angry at the lights around her. She shook her head, and was about to go off to the park, but then looked at her watch. She noticed the time was far past midnight, and she stood up quickly. She was supposed to meet the pointy-eared floating man at her Balcony tonight! She quickly ran off, quickly using her new-found speed to her advantage.

* * *

Kish floated outside the Café, looking down into one of the windows. He noted a staircase that lead down to the basement… That's where he needed to get. He didn't care who saw him creeping through the window: He was there to steal. Not to cause damage. He quickly teleported inside and floated down the stairs. He hid behind a cabinet when he heard someone cough. He looked around the corner and saw Ryou and Keiichiro working at their computer, their backs turned to him. He scanned across the lab they worked in, and spotted exactly what he was looking for. A line of vials lined one of the workbenches, each labeled with the image of an animal. Only one was with a red cap, and had a sign in front of it clearly stating, "Dangerous. Only to be used in lab, not on Mews." Kish grinned. The label on the vial was that of a bird. He floated over, looking back at the two boys working at the computer. He grabbed the vial silently, and then quickly teleported out as fast as he came. He then was high above Zeisha's house, looking down on her balcony. He loaded the vial into a needle and syringe, smiling to himself. He knew this plan would work. He just knew it.

Back at the lab, Keiichiro yawned and looked over his shoulder. He didn't stay there for long, and looked back to the computer, but quickly shot up from his chair and went over to a whole workbench of vials. He counted them, and then he turned pale. Ryou walked over, asking him what was wrong. Keiichiro pushed his glasses back up on his nose. "We're missing an animal DNA vial. The dangerous one. The Galapagos hawk." Ryou looked at him for two seconds, and then quickly pushed him out of the way to look at the vials. Sure enough: the Galapagos hawk DNA was missing. Ryou looked at Keiichiro.

"That's the one animal we had that will openly attack humans without provocation." Ryou didn't say it as a question, but as a statement. The two looked at each other, then sighed. "Who could have taken it? No one come through the door-" Then Ryou got an idea, and quickly called Ichigo. "No questions. Get over here. Now. Call the rest of the girls." He hung up, and the two men looked back at the empty holder, and its ominous warning.

* * *

Zeisha walked through her back door, dropping her jacket on the back of a chair. The dining room was massive, with a high chandelier and a long, oak table. A maid at her side bowed to young Zeisha and told her that her parents were out and would not be back for a while. Zeisha nodded, walking away from the sweet old maid. She moved silently into the main foyer, where a large spiral staircase went up three floors. Her boots clicked against the grand marble staircase, all the way up all three floors. Zeisha told her parents she wanted her room to be relocated, and they built another level onto the house. The entire third floor was for her, with a room, art and recording studio.

She opened the large white door to her room, silently closing it behind her. The single room took up almost the entire floor. The walls were painted a sherbet colored orange, and her large bed had a hand-sewn quilt of many different colors. She had lights all over her ceiling, and along the top of her walls she had strung neon Christmas lights. In one corner of her room was a large window seat next to her balcony, and in the other was a make-up area with a full body window. She had a massive walk-in closet with all of her clothes, but none of this concerned her now. She opened up the double doors to her balcony, and stepped out into the crisp night. The wind blew through her hair, and Zeisha held her arms close to her body. Then the arms on her arms and the back of her neck stood on end, and she turned on her heels to see Kish floating right above her balcony on the roof. She looked to the injection he had in his hand and stepped back.

"What is that." She demanded, not taking her eyes off him for a second. They flashed a bright green, almost letting her Mew side out from the fear she was experiencing. Kish floated down to her, smiling the entire time. She backed away, feeling the railing against her back. "Don't come any closer!" She yelled, and Kish stopped, wincing at her yell. She grinned, knowing that she at least had something she could use against him for now. "Now, tell me. What is that." She demanded again, watching as Kish's bright yellow eyes fell on the needle.

"This is your new power. I told you: I would make you the most powerful animal girl out there. They won't ask you back if you are too strong for them." He grinned, disappearing and then reappeared behind Zeisha, throwing his hand over her mouth before she could yell out. He placed his chin on her shoulder, breathing into her ear before he whispered to her. "They won't be able to defeat you, Zeisha. You're singing will improve to a beautiful bird's cry… And you'll become not only the most famous supernatural, but the most famous girl singer this side of the galaxy." He smiled as he felt Zeisha's defenses go down. He lifted his hand from her mouth and turned in front of her. "All I need is for you to allow me to inject you with a new animal… And you will have everything I have promised you."

"The catch." Zeisha transformed into Mew Zeisha, and Kish noticed the missing charm around her neck. The marking over her left hand glowed a soft pink in the night. "Tell me what I must do for you, and you have my word." Kish grinned, and he brushed Zeisha's long hair behind her shoulder. His skin was cold when he touched her bare shoulder, but she did not falter.

"Serve my cause to help this world." Kish grinned, moving to Mew Zeisha's side and lifting up her arm. Mew Zeisha watched the needle get closer to her tan skin, and met his eyes with a steady gaze. The two froze, Kish almost curled around her body in what looked like a caring way. He saw her as a sister now… And just waited for the inevitable: for her to accept his offer. Mew Zeisha nodded to him, not breaking her stare as he injected the vial into her muscles and into her blood stream.

Mew Zeisha suddenly jerked backwards, her vertebrae cracking multiple times with this one motion. Her eyes rolled back into her head, as Kish floated behind her to make sure she didn't fall off the balcony. Mew Zeisha awoke, somewhere within her own consciousness. She saw a beautiful light shaped like a hawk flying around the sky above her, and then dive to her at amazing speed. It slammed into her back, and she screamed out in agony. This wasn't like the painted wolf… It was a much more violent entity. But with their joining, she felt the power. She felt the rage. She felt alive.

Mew Zeisha's eyes snapped open. She was lying on the balcony, her cheek pressed against the stone of the floor. She noticed Kish was kneeling in front of her, extending his hand to her. She pushed herself up, and took his hand to get a steady footing. He led her over to her full size mirror, a large grin coating his features. He covered her eyes before she got there, and then whispered in her ear. "Look at the new you. Much more improvement." Kish moved his hand, and Mew Zeisha looked at her reflection. Her grin widened, and she began to laugh. Kish joined in on the laugh, and held onto her shoulders. He knew it. They were going to create so much together. So much destruction.


	7. Chapter 7

**Death Angel**

"Ryou, what are we going to do? The pendent was our main way of keeping track of where Zeisha was, but now…" Ichigo looked down at the golden pendent and the torn, dirty gold fabric with the, now faded white fuzz lining. Lettuce took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes again, sniffling. Pudding was clinging onto her legs and had small tears falling down her cheeks as well.

"I liked Cranky Zeisha…" Pudding sniffled. Lettuce pet her friend's head, and then turned to Ryou. She sighed before speaking, "Honestly, what are we going to do Ryou? We don't know whom she's with, or where she is. Are we just going to go on a search on our own?"

Ryou shook his head. "I am not going to risk sending you guys out without the whole group with you. We have more then one problem on our hands tonight, ladies." He motioned to the rack of testing animal DNA, showing off how one of the vials was missing. "Not only is Zeisha missing, but we also had a thief within the past twenty-four hours. Someone broke into the lab last night and took a needle, and a very specific animal DNA from right here. Keiichiro and I both were inside the lab when this incident took place, and saw nothing." Zakuro rolled her eyes, and stifled a laugh at their carelessness. Ryou ignored it and continued on. "This DNA was of the _Buteo galapagoensis, _the Galápagos Hawk, a rare species of hawk only found in the Galápagos archipelago. This hawk, although mostly a solitary animal, will hunt in only groups of two or three. Also, what makes the Galápagos Hawk so dangerous, is the fact that by nature, it will not hesitate to attack humans or anything that it considers an enemy."

"So, basically, you're assuming that whoever stole this DNA is thinking of using it on Zeisha?" Mint asked, but then shook her head. "No, it doesn't make sense. How can she get both the painted wolf and this hawk into her blood stream?" Mint looked to Keiichiro, who she expected to have the complete answer for her.

"Well, we're not sure if this person was planning on using this DNA on Zeisha, or for their own purposes. We're not ruling out either one, and this new Hawk DNA could reject either Zeisha or any new person who wants to have some form of new power. However, there is a slight chance that both the Painted Wolf genes and the Hawk genes could co-exist in Zeisha's genes. We're not going to rule the possibility out." Keiichiro looked up form his computer, pushing his glasses further up onto his nose. "I mean, just the original Mew's are what we originally thought to be impossible."

"You're just telling us to be careful. In a long round-about way." Zakuro brushed her hair behind her shoulder and crossed her arms in front of her. "Really, if you guys didn't put so much pressure on the girl, she probably wouldn't have cracked." Zakuro threw it out in the open, and Ichigo sighed.

"But she would have left either way-"

"But _maybe_ she wouldn't have it you guys just didn't tell her no outright. Admit it Ichigo. For once in your whole life, you were wrong. In fact, you were really wrong. Now we have a rouge Mew running around, and god knows what she's doing." Ichigo didn't meet Zakuro's challenge or her gaze, but instead turned to Ryou and ignored her. Zakuro again rolled her eyes and turned to pick up her jacket.

"Please, girls, stop fighting. We have more going on right now and we don't need to add petty fighting over it. Yes Zakuro, you're probably right, but Ichigo could be right too. We're not Zeisha. We wouldn't know what she would think or what she would do." Ryou turned to his computer and typed in some quick commands, then turned back to the girls. "I'm keeping track of all of you at all times. Try to travel together, but if you are alone and seem to be in trouble, the rest of the girls will be right to your side at once. You all understand?"

"Yes Ryou!" They all answered at once, and walked out of the Lab and the Café, and down the street together. Zakuro walked behind them, while Lettuce and Mint held their own conversation on the side.

"You really think that she would have stolen the DNA herself, Mint?" Lettuce thought out loud, looking at Mint through the corner of her eye. Mint shook her head quickly and grimaced.

"That girl hated the fact that she had one animal gene in her. Why on earth would she get another one into her? It doesn't add up." Mint rubbed her hands together and coughed once. "Must be some allergies…" She muttered under her breath. Lettuce offered her a handkerchief, but Mint politely refused. Ichigo ran up to their side, and gave in her two cents to the conversation.

"What if she stole it just to get like, one of her band members to be a Mew?" Ichigo offered, but Mint shot that down faster then she shot Lettuce's offer down. They walked further in silence, everyone trying to find out a reason why the DNA vial would be gone. And how it possibly could be connected with Zeisha. They walked a good hundred yards before Pudding spoke up.

"What if one of the aliens took it?" The others looked down at her and stopped walking. "They could easily teleport into the lab and take a vial. Maybe they think that if they had a Mew on their side, they could defeat us and reclaim Earth and get back at the humans." She looked up at the others. "Or am I just being a silly little Pudding again?" Zakuro picked Pudding up and swung her around a little bit.

"Pudding, that isn't a bad idea at all. We just don't know what we should think right now, but you're idea? Greatly appreciated. And we will defiantly take it into consideration." Zakuro smiled, but then had to put Pudding down before reaching into her pocket to pick up her cell phone. Simultaneously, a car drove down the road and stopped next to her. "I need to go to my Agent. I will see you later girls." She ducked into the car, which quickly squealed down the road and out of sight.

"Man, she comes and she goes whenever she pleases…" Mint sighed, and the other three girls agreed with her as they all continued to walk down the street on their own. They didn't go far before their heard a woman's ear splitting scream. They all perked up and immediately ran in the direction of the scream. Ichigo turned over her shoulder.

"Girls! Transform!" Everyone nodded and immediately followed Ichigo's command. They all found the site of the scream. A large, hideous fox had cornered a woman and her little daughter, who were both crying for their lives. Mew Ichigo ran up and kicked the back of the fox's large leg, which turned his salivating jaw to the girls. "Hey! Maybe you should pick on something else for once!" Mew Ichigo taunted, and the fox growled at her and lunged, almost catching her off guard. The girls all jumped in different directions, and Mew Lettuce had her weapon out even before she landed.

"Ribbon Lettuce Rush!" She yelled, aiming her attack at the fox's feet in an attempt to trip it. He crashed loudly to the ground, growling and getting up to turn on her. Quickly afterwards through, he was blasted with one of Mew Mint's arrows from above, and his attention changed once again. Mew Mint laughed.

"Man, this guy has a short attention span!" But in this small lapse of attention, she was smacked out of the sky and into the side of the building she was next to. She screamed out, and fell down to the ground where Mew Lettuce could barely catch her in time. The fox turned onto Mew Lettuce and raised a massive paw to smack her too, but was hit with one of Mew Pudding's attack, attempting to distract him. Instead, he whipped his tail out and attempted to hit Mew Pudding with his tail, but still kept his attention on Mew Lettuce, who was trying her best to avoid attacks while still keeping Mew Mint safe. Mew Pudding kept attacking, but could not distract him for long enough.

"Mew Ichigo! Help!" She yelled, and Mew Ichigo ran in, and attacked the fox's face. That got his attention and he turned and snarled at Mew Ichigo. She summed her weapon, and glared at the monster in front of her. She pointed at him, and laughed.

"You alien, you're time is up! Ribbon Strawberry-"

Before she could finish, someone dropped from the sky and drove a spear-like weapon down into the back of the alien's neck. It howled out in pain, but before it could shake its attacker off, they jumped off and raised their weapon one more time. On the closer examination, it was an extremely long, golden halberd. The total length of the weapon had to be at least six feet if not more. The axe part was shaped like a crude crescent moon, and the spear at the top was at least a foot and a half long. A large black ribbon was tied to right underneath the axe. The attacked plunged the weapon down again, this time swinging it with the axe. It cut right through the alien, and it disappeared and separated into the fox and the alien. Masha scooped up the alien as he usually would, the all of the girls attention was on the one who actually defeated the danger.

The attacker had long hair that whipped around in the wind above the buildings, but specific features could not be seen and were silhouetted out by the sun. Mew Ichigo only noticed the impressively large wings that sprouted from the attackers back before they turned away from the Mews and flew away with blinding speed. Mew Ichigo yelled after them, but her voice was lost to the wind. Mew Pudding ran up to her side and transformed back, the rest of the girl's following suits. Mint's lip was bleeding and she needed help with standing up and walking. Lettuce helped her over to Ichigo, where Pudding pulled on Ichigo's skirt.

"Ichigo, who was that?" She asked, eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"Pudding, I don't know honestly." Ichigo looked to Lettuce and Mint, who both shook their heads, not knowing who their savior was, and didn't get any more information on their looks then Ichigo did.

"Well, Ichigo? Whoever they were, they looked like an angel. And that angel saved us." Pudding said matter-of-factly. Ichigo looked down at her youngest teammate, and nodded. She sighed and thought to herself. _–Sure…An angel of death if anything.-_


End file.
